Attica Correctional Facility inmate hangs self in cell

An inmate at the Attica Correctional Facility hung himself in his cell this morning using his bed sheet.

During rounds of a facility cellblock, a Correction Officer discovered a blanket covering the front of a cell. The Officer removed the blanket and found the inmate assigned to that cell hanging from a top bar in the front of the cell. The bed sheet was attached to the cell bars and around the inmate's neck. The inmate was immediately cut down and staff administered emergency medical treatment. Efforts to revive the inmate were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead in the infirmary at 10:39 a.m. by a facility physician.

The cause of death has not been determined, pending the results of an autopsy. The inmate was last seen alive in his cell at 9:38 a.m. by an Officer who was making rounds of the cellblock.

The name of the inmate and identifying details about his conviction are not being released until family members have been notified.

The hanging is the 12th suicide this year in the state prison system now housing 70,419 inmates. The last suicide, also a hanging, occurred October 29 at the maximum-security Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County. The last suicide at Attica, also a hanging, occurred May 4.

There were 13 suicides in the state prison system last year.

Attica, a maximum-security prison in Wyoming County, opened in 1931. It currently houses 2,202 inmates.